Lin Evans

Cool use of masks Dave - just in time for the Olympic Games too!! Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, That's my problem too - I'm not sure I would get it right. It's difficult without the source code to see exactly the formula used for setting acceleration, slow down and smooth. Probably it could be done in a general rather than specific to PTE means - perhaps on graph paper. If I get the time, I might try - or perhaps just do a web search to see if someone has already done it... high probability of that I think... Best regards, Lin

Hi David, Just one minor technical and admittedly "nitpicking" observation - it'a actually the "behavior" of the motion of the object between keyframes. The "speed" it measured from keyframe to keyframe might well be identical assuming one measures speed as end time of arrival of the object at the second keyframe along the timeline minus start time of the motion of that object at the first keyframe. But because the object might start slower and gradually go continually faster (accelerate) or start faster and gradually slow down (Slow Down) or start slowly, accelerate then gradually slow down (smooth) as opposed to begin, maintain and end with a constant speed (linear); the position of the object at any "point" in time will be different depending on the behavior chosen. Of course measuring speed by subtracting start time from end time is arbitrarily imposing an average upon a behavior which obviously might not be constant. I know "we" all know this, but this reminder is for the new user readers who may not realize exactly what this discussion is about. It would be nice if there were a series of graphs to which we could refer in order to put this into a visual which would make it much easier to apprehend (I think).... Best regards, Lin

Cool Charlie - I think you have it "wired" LOL. It's looking great!! Best regards, Lin

Hi Paul, Just make the slideshow as a video without the cell phone, add the cell phone as a single slide, set the time of the slide equal to the time of the video, run the video inside the cell phone window and save the whole thing as another video to convert to Flash... All the transitions, etc., will stay inside the window of the cell phone. Best regards, Lin

Hi Jill, As I said, the "easiest" way to do it is with a video. It could also be done as you describe, but the "quality" isn't really all that different depending on the type of video you create and the resolution and type of display device your audience is using to play back. Up to 1080p a video done using an AVI output and the Xvid codec is virtually identical to an executable and has the advantage of being easily amenable with an HD Television. Of course if it is a large slideshow with numerous slides, the video will make the overall size of the show for download purposes much larger which can be problematic. Even complex animations are butter smooth with the Xvid codec and the IQ at the approximate two megapixel resolution size is quite equal to an executable. The other issue you will have with the executable and multiple slide concept is if you use 3D transitions. The cell phone will not remain on screen in a static manner as the slides are changed, but will come and go with the rest of the image. If you use simple fades or transitions which do not interrupt the entire screen, then indeed it will appear as if the phone remains static and only the phone's screen display changes. Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, As long as there were the "option" to go back to the way it is now for flexibility, I see no real issue with having all defaulted to whatever you choose. The question has been asked in the past about auto setting of "glue" "separate" at keyframes to avoid having to manually change for multiple keyframes on multiple objects, but so far there has been no explanation as to why the default is as it is. Perhaps there are programming issues which make it difficult - I don't know because I don't program in Pascal. Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, That might make a good suggestion - why not post it in the suggestion forum... Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, Keep this in mind. When you set multiple parameters (zoom, pan and/or rotate) you "must" set the parameters to the identical rate of change (linear, accelerate, slow down, smooth) to avoid unanticipated results. It's not a bug with PTE, it's just complex logic. As Peter explained - you are asking the program to perform at differing rates of change. The reason there is no shift with linear is because it is the "default" and all parameters are defaulted to the same rate of change. Whenever you change one of these parameters and others are active and not changed, you will see a "shift" in position at various points along the timeline. This is inevitable and the logical result of linear versus non-linear interactions. If you think about it for a bit and work through the logic it will become apparent. Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, It's not a bug. You were asking PTE to perform a zoom at one rate of change while performing a pan at another. The net result is to "shift" the position viz the observer at various points along the timeline. Even though it's not always "necessary" to set all three parameters to the same rate of change, there is no "penalty" for doing so and it obviates the potential for issues such as you experienced. There are times when one might want these types of non linear behaviors, but generally just setting all three parameters to the identical setting will result in one's expectations being met. Best regards, Lin

Gary, A long time ago I wrote a tutorial covering the necessity of setting pan, zoom and rotate to the same linearity or non-linearity. Your problems will be solved if you set all three to the same - in this case - accelerate. Regardless of the logic - the probability is that there will nearly "always" be slight shifts from zero due to mouse cursor control, etc.,when you are setting parameters. Set all three: Pan, Zoom and Rotate to Accelerate.... Best regards, Lin

Hey, quit that Anthony, I resemble that remark! LOL Best regards, Lin

Hi Dave, Hindsight is always 20/20 I guess. Actually, were I designing the interface, the animation tab would not be under the "Borders" canopy, but perhaps that was done for expediency when the feature was introduced. It's difficult sometimes, to decide where to put feature calls in a program. Several who wanted to use animated gifs were very glad to see these features implemented, but the manual and documentation (at least to my knowledge) didn't cover it and that's too bad because if you use animated gifs these are absolutely "great" features. For example, when I put my "eagle" inside the wire frame "globe" I wanted to make the entire animation loop seamlessly (remember, you first thought it had multiple slides?). I couldn't have done that without the ability to alter the wing beat frequency of the eagle to facilitate a seamless start for the loop. The interval feature allowed me to do that without having to resort to a third party software and remake the entire animated gif. Even with an excellent third party software it would have been awkward at best because to get it "right" was an iterative process. Best regards, Lin

Hi Barry, Actually, I think you implied a question about what the animation tab was for which is what Xaver explained. The animation tab is quite useful for those who use animated gif's in their presentation. Experimentation with this is the best way I've found to enhance understanding. Best regards, Lin ....

Hi Jim, The problem with inserting templates from metadata fields is that different software which reads metadata assigns slightly different names to the fields. This makes it very difficult to always be certain that your files (images) have the data in the correct place to be revealed via the PTE metadata call. My suggestion is to go into each IPTC field available to you in the software you use to write or modify the metadata and put the "title" as shown by your software then make a temporary "trial" show with only a couple slides, call the field as described by PTE and see what name appears from the actual image. That way you can be assured that if you can always retrieve the data you want from the template call. Of course you have all the normal font, size, color, etc., to assign via the Comments tab. Best regards, Lin

Hi Jim, I'm not certain how much of this is relevant, but we already have the ability to display a variety of EXIF and Metadata in PTE. If you click on "Project Options" then the "Comments Tab" and look for "Set Text Comments For New Slides" then "Insert Template" you have a wide choice of IPTC metadata and Exif data to choose from. Best regards, Lin

Hi Walker, As Jill and Phil have already said, there is absolutely no reason to leave PTE. On all Windows installations there are Wingdings, Webdings, etc., which have multiple types of arrows and other useful symbols which are treated just like any other font. The easiest way to see what they are is to select them as a font then simply go through the uppercase and lowercase alphabet as "text" in PTE. Once you find the symbol you want to use simply size it, change color, position, etc., dynamically with PTE just as you would normal text. Best regards, Lin

Nice one Davy - It sure has grown since Sherry and I were there in 1992 at the old location.... Wow!! Best regards, Lin

Thanks Artem, That's great to know - it's an area most have yet to explore! Best regards, Lin

Hi John, Go to Objects and Animations and place both videos on a single slide - size and position them then select the one you want to adjust the start time differently for and click on the "Properties" tab. Set the Offset to the number of seconds you want the delay - that's all there is to it... Best regards, Lin

Hey Davy, Cool textures and nice mix too! The ending is too abrupt for me - otherwise a total thumbs up! Everything works. Best regards, Lin

Interesting optical illusion makes the pipe appear like a funnel in the "end" perspective... Best regards, Lin

LOL, you "knew" this was coming: O.K. - the 4th of July was our national "independence" day - so forgive the national flag flying at the top.... The "eagle" is our national symbol of freedom, courage, etc., but if Benjamin Franklin had his way it would have been a wild "turkey." Somehow - not quite the same - HA. This is a "spoof" on the mighty bald eagle - I call it "Fly, Fly very fast, the cats are coming"... As with your neat wire frame construction - press ESC to leave the continuous loop. All in fun! http://www.lin-evans...inwireframe.zip (about 3 meg) http://www.lin-evans...ireframemac.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Laurence, Here's a sample of doing exactly that. I think you can see why there are logical difficulties with this approach. The zooms and a pan was performed on the first image. This image was copied and quickly pasted with CTRL V to the next slides and then those additional slides were simply replaced in the main screen by clicking on the icon and randomly selecting additional slides. http://www.lin-evans.org/demo/sample.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Bert, Excellent rodeo images - you shot it from ground level which is always best! Out here in Colorado we have rodeo shows quite frequently, but rare, I guess in the east. The bull riding is always fun what with all the "snot" and other excrement from the bulls and a thrill a second for the riders - LOL. When I was young I rode the circuit a bit myself - too easy to get hurt and not too many healthy older rodeo cowboys. Congratulations on a great show - it was fun watching and listening!! Best regards, Lin